Green Lanterns #2: BDSM Costumes and Teddy Bears

As someone who’s never read a Green Lantern series until now, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this current run. For the most part my previous misgivings about a Green Lantern series was that they tend to be plot-based rather than character focused. So far I’ve been proven wrong, as this series has been very focused on the buddy cop dynamic (and a brilliant dynamic at that). Simon Baez is a Lebanese American Muslim who uses his willpower to fight the fear others have of him. Jessica Cruz is a Latina who needs all the willpower she has to face the crippling anxiety, ptsd, and agoraphobia she has.

The contrast between these characters is not only in their issues (Simon’s problems are external while Jessica's are internal), it’s also in their personalities. Simon is rough, hot headed, impulsive, and has a secret soft spot. Jessica is nervous, thoughtful, a bit of pushover, and speaks up when she needs to. As one would expect these two butt heads so much so that Hal Jordon decides to force the two to share a Lantern in order to learn to get along. They have to be together to power said lantern and it’s a really great idea.

I can’t recall a superhero team up that takes logistics and schedules into consideration. With any relationship spending time together is important now; imagine saving the world thrown into the mix and you get quite the conflict. The potential conflict of these two being unable to save the world due to not being able to carpool is comedy gold waiting to be claimed. Unfortunately we don’t really explore that and what momentum we get with the first issue is lost with the second issue.

It delves straight into the Red Lanterns and their plans for Red Dawn. They hope to turn Earth into their new Homeworld since theirs is dying. They chose Earth because there is so much rage there (could we be seeing social commentary with this plot? Possibly!). They might also have picked Earth as a form of revenge against the green lanterns that have defeated them in battle.

We get a better introduction to what Atrocitus--leader of the Red Lanterns--is about than we do our main leads. We actually get a few pages to relax and just take in what Atrocitus is experiencing. He obviously has compassion for his fellow Red Lanterns but his ideas of justice could turn the whole galaxy blood red if his plans for Earth succeed.

And it does in a 28 Days Later-ish kind of zombie rage way. Jessica immediately starts to panic when her sister is infected at the Not A WalMart store, in a sequence that feels weirdly rushed. During which Simon makes a truck construct and a mechanical robot arm in order to argue with Jessica about focusing on the bigger picture (I do like how we have Simon making vehicle and mechanical constructs; it nicely ties into his past as a car thief). It’s a sequence that just frustratingly shows the lack of communication between the two and truthfully it gets old.

The biggest problem in the series is that Jessica and Baez do not talk to each other. They argue a great deal, and not the fun kind arguing. This is realistic, bad relationship arguing. Plus there is the fact that Simon has the same unfortunate design flaw that Bane did in his animated appearance in The New Batman Adventures series: they both look like fetishists. It makes it hard for me to take him seriously, Simon’s a gag ball away from perfecting his gimp-themed luchador look.

At one point, Jessica knocks Simon out with a ray blast in order to locate her infected sister only to fail to create a construct due to a verbal beat down from her sister and her anxiety getting the best of her. This actually makes sense, as with anxiety one can become quickly overwhelmed, so her struggle to get enough willpower to make a construct is a promising development. Simon then steps in to save Jessica from her sister.

The issue ends with Simon not listening to Jessica's concerns as he decides that a teddy bear is the perfect gift for his nephew. Randomly, he decides to bring it the teddy bear along, so we get a pointless but visually pleasing shot of the Red Lanterns logo forming over Earth.  To see an angry BDSM-themed Green Lantern holding a teddy bear while in Earth’s orbit makes this confusing and rushed issue tolerable.

Green Lanterns #2 is written by Sam Humphries with art done by Jay Listen and Robson Rocha published by DC comics and is out now and available.

Elizabeth Ledwell is a witch who has a certificate in graphics communications she doesn't use.

"Jade Street Protection Services" – Positive Autistic Representation Is Magic!

Before we begin this review there’s somethings you should know: I love the magical girl genre, regardless of whether it's deconstruction, reconstruction, spoof, parody, or homage. This flood of magical girl comics in America has been grand—splendid, even. Since these American comics have been coming out, the genre is becoming more diverse than ever.  I was hooked from the moment Jade Street Protection Services was first announced, even though all I had was a blurb describing the series as "Magical girls who are misfits at their magic academy form a gang."  Misfit magical girls? I was floored with how much I was excited for this book. A fresh take on this beloved genre that I just had to read.

Then an interview from the creators came out, and I knew that I had to review this book. The interview in question revealed that the main character Emma is a non-verbal autistic girl. I’m an autistic girl, however unlike Emma I’m verbal. I can’t criticize this book or discuss whether or not it got the non-verbal autistic’s experience; however, I can talk about the autistic experience in general and what the book got wrong or right based on my own experience.

Autism is a neurological condition with a wide range of experiences; most media has unfortunately failed to portray this properly (the same might be said for disability in general). Since even the most intersectional of feminist spaces often fail to bring up disabilities or the realities that disabled people live with, you can probably understand why I was both extremely excited and terrified about this series. Would they have Emma wish for a "cure" for her disability? The concept of "curing" autism is met with resentment by the autistic community due to its clear roots in the devaluation of autistic persons and experiences. Would Emma’s magic make her "normal," would she "overcome" her disability by getting powered up? The tired trope of overcoming one’s disability is nothing more than an ableist notion that disability can be turned off in order to achieve success or functionality; it’s just one tactic out of many to distance the disabled identity from success or humanity.

Thankfully, the book rises above these pitfalls and tropes. Jade Street Protection Services is amazing in what it does for the genre: all of the harmful implications of the genre's previous lack of diversity—like the way magical girls have to look or act—all of the misogynistic bullshit that women are faced with in real life, is targeted for criticism by being exemplified as the antagonist.

In the opening characterization of the main cast, we witness Emma's struggle to find where she belongs in high school, feeling like she wasn’t made for it. She's not into what the other girls are into, and her difference partly stems from her lack of finding her niche and her inability to communicate freely with her fellow students.

But if you’re not going to fit in at school, there are certainly worse places than the Mattsdotter Academy School for Magical Girls.

The Academy has more than one type of girl. Here's a rundown: Emma is our insecure but thoughtful protagonist; she knows that she and her fellow magical girls are worth fighting for. Divya is an overachiever with some serious spreadsheet skills who cares what people think about her.
Saba is a mischievous fun loving girl who knows how to perfectly coordinate her hijab with her Lolita fashion. Noemi is the cool strong-but-silent type who has a heart of gold if anyone would care to notice. Kai is a fighter and lover of ladies who may not be as chill as she seems.

So, right off the bat we have five very different girls with their own strengths and weaknesses. These differences at first cause our cast to fight, so much so that a gym class disaster causes giant conjured toilets to run amok, and our leading ladies and a fellow classmate land in detention.

After a debate about whether to ditch for kebabs or froyo, some personality differences arise that make the girls actually talk to each other sans Emma, who observes. A fellow classmate (Andrea)-- who dislikes Emma because she’s a "spaz"--begs the group to not leave her with Emma "the muted marvel" in one of the book's best moments: Andrea is called out on her ableist behavior and subsequently ditched. Considering how schoolchildren with special needs are often ostracized by peers and faculty, seeing this ostracizing called out—and making this the point where our main cast forges their outsider status together—is tremendously inspiring.

It’s not only these big, obvious moments that make this book so enjoyable, but also the little humanizing moments.  Divya and Noemi happily have a short conversation in Spanish. We see Emma stimming when she’s anxious; at one point while she and the gang are hiding, she’s asked to do it quietly—she’s not asked to stop, or scolded, or embarrassed, just to keep it down while they're hiding. Saba’s love for cute things extends to naming a roach cutie. Noemi and Kia share a moment that hints at a possible romance. Also the girls "swear" by saying kittens or sparkles; it’s just as good as it sounds.

Over the course of their search for kebabs and froyo, our girls provide some light exposition on the rules of their magic system. One of these rules forbids magical girls from creating anything, allegedly because this messes up their magic—but as we see with our antagonists, the rule may be connected to a more sinister prospect, such as the selling of magic and magical girls! Is the Academy in on this? Could there be foul play? We’ll hopefully find the answers in the next issue of Jade Street Protection Services. Without giving too much away, I want readers familiar with Madoka Magica to think about the similarities between Emma's and Mami's outfits, and what implications the use of this motif might have.

On the whole, this is a breezy read with likable characters and light exposition that knows how to hook you in. Jade Street Protection Services is available now from Black Mask Studios.

Until next time, stay magical folks!

Elizabeth Ledwell is a witch who has a certificate in graphics communications she doesn't use.